Was it poetic justice . . . or simply lies whispered in the dark?
Detective Jack Parker needs an education -- a sensual education. Someone is stalking women . . . and they're doing it with a literary flair. Verses from Victorian erotica are being sent to the victims, naughty turn-of-the-century postcards are left inside their homes. Jack has to figure things out before somebody gets hurt. But he needs help. And he finds that -- and more -- in bookstore owner Veronica Archer . . .
An expert in historical amorous works, Ronnie is dying to know if reality can be as stimulating as fiction. So when Jack shows up at the shop, she decides to make him a scandalous proposition. She'll help him decipher the clues if he'll satisfy her wildest, most secret desires -- desires Jack has no problem accommodating . . .
Only, the closer they get, the closer to home the clues become. Leaving Jack to decide if Ronnie is just a very skilled scholar -- or an even more dangerous decoy . . .
When Julie was knee-high to a grasshopper (an expression that she would like it known she has never, ever used in real life) she informed her parents that she was going to be a novelist, and proceeded to write Kitty Claws, a bestselling book about a cat as Santa. (The book sold out its entire print-run of one, so lets not split hairs about that "best-selling" thing, okay?)
After that stellar start, Julie continued to dabble in the literary arts, writing short stories on yellow pads that she forced her mother to type, scribbling poems on ruled notebook paper that she forced her mother to type, making up skits and songs that she forced her mother to watch and listen to, and diving head-first into high school journalism, at which point, mom finally got a break.
In college, she continued with the journalism thing, picking that as her major and working at The Daily Texan, the student newspaper for the University of Texas. The idea that she could actually write novels and, oh, buy food too, completely eluded her.
The journalism thing cranked along nicely for about one semester. Then Julie got a job as a production assistant on a movie originally called Splatter, but which was released as Future Kill (and can still be found in Blockbuster and through Netflix), with really great Giger poster art. Julie worked her tail off, appeared as an extra, had a great time, and promptly switched her major to film.
Graduating at the ripe old age of 19, Julie chickened out and didn't move to Los Angeles to become the next Steven Spielberg. Instead, she stayed in Austin and worked as a media assistant until she decided that perhaps law school was the better way to go because, hey, a degree in film slides so seamlessly into law. (Or, more likely, grad school was inevitable and the LSAT seemed doable.) Not one to waste time, Julie took the LSAT in December, and was admitted to Baylor Law School on a full scholarship the following February. Law school and Julie got along great, and after graduation, Julie went to work as a law clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, where she had a fabulous time drafting legal opinions, preparing the judge for court, and taking regular trips to New Orleans on a government per diem. During her two year stint as a clerk, the writing bug bit again, and Julie wrote a stage play that will never, ever see the light of day. Really. So don't even ask.
After her clerkship, Julie decided she could handle moving to the Big City, and she took a job with Skadden, Arps in L.A., where she worked on a variety of cases with some very smart lawyers. After a year, she moved on to smaller and smaller firms (and had a short stint as a production exec at a small film company, thus justifying all those credit hours in college). She continued to work with very smart lawyers, one of whom introduced Julie to Julie Garwood (her books, not the woman herself), and the writing bug bit again.
Though Julie had been dabbling with writing in her limited spare time, she'd lacked focus. Now, she'd found it, and she was determined to write an historical romance. You may, after reviewing Julie's book list, note that there are no historical romances on there. Let's just say that she didn't succeed at that task. Julie did, however, discover that while she has a head for contemporary nuances, the ins-and-outs of historical detail are enough to make her head explode.
The in-progress historical was promptly shelved, and Julie turned her attention to fleshing out a contemporary romance, having decided that category romance was the way to go, since with the demands of a legal job, she'd be much more likely to finish 240 manuscript pages than 400.
Finish them she did, and though she got nice feedback on the voice, the novel didn't sell. One editor, Harlequin's Brenda Chin, returned a rejection letter with a note that the hook wasn't enough of a "sexy premise."
Always up for a challenge, Julie came up with the opening line, "You need a man," which she thought had oodles of sexy premise potential. She just had to find a story to go with the line. Eventually, she did, and Nobody Does It Better, Julie's first published novel, was born. She entered the first few chapters in contests, finaled, and was ultimately judged by that same Brenda Chin, who ended up buying the manuscript. (Which is not the reason Julie thinks Brenda is a really cool person. Truly.)
By that time, Julie had realized that 400 pages were manageable after all, and she'd almost completed a paranormal romance along the lines of The Little Mermaid about a cat who is in love with her master. The Cat's Fancy sold just a few months after the original sale. Both books came out in 2000, along with a second Temptation, and Julie has had at least 3 books hit the shelves annually every since, and now has well over twenty books to her credit, crossing over a multitude of genres, most of which are represented in some way by the clever pictures in the collage at the top of this page.
Praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a "flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations," Julie's books have hit lists as varied as USA Today, Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, and Locus Magazine, all of which has made Julie a happy camper. Julie is also a two-time RITA finalist, both times for books about strong women (a superhero and a demon-hunter). There's probably some deep meaning there, and if you know what it is, feel free to drop Julie a line.
Julie was also the winner of Romantic Times' Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Contemporary Paranormal of 2001, the winner of the Reviewers International Organization's award for best romantic suspense of 2004 and best paranormal of 2005, and the winner of the National Readers' Choice Award for best mainstream book of 2005. Not that she's keeping track or anything.
Julie writes a range of stories including quirky romances, sexy contemporaries, young adult novels, suspense, paranormal mommy lit, and (soon!) darker urban fantasy.
Her initial foray into the urban fantasy mommy lit genre--Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom--proved especially successful, resulting in a Booksense pick, a Target break-out book, other accolades and honors, and a movie deal. Specifically, Carpe Demon, is in development as a feature film with Warner Brothers and 1492 Pictures. Julie frequently pounds on her battered wooden desk (Salvation Army, $25, gotta love it) in order to urge the project from development to screen. (In Hollywood, these things are never certain until you're watching the movie and eating popcorn.)
Julie and her husband moved from Southern California back to Texas in 1995, and Julie quit the practice of law to write full time in 2004. Now, she lives and writes in central Texas with her husband, two daughters, and several cats. She is an active supporter of Love Without Boundaries. Click here to learn more about the charities Julie supports.
This review is from: Silent Confessions (Mass Market Paperback)
This is my first Kenner book to read that is not one of the Blaze series. I had hoped this full-length novel without the Blaze trappings would prove she had moved beyond the stilted sameness of the Blaze books. However, that is not the case. Let me state, I am not a great fan of the Blaze series in that I like a lot of depth to a book. The sensual scenes don't offend me; however, I don't want them to overshadow all other aspects of the book. If you are a Blaze fan and really enjoy these light, sexy tales, you should add a star to my review.
A stalker is using quotes from what appears to be historical erotic literature to frighten his prey. Jack Parker, a detective with the sex crimes unit of the NYPD must seek out the source of the suggestive phrases. Jack hopes that once that source is found, he will be able to find the stalker before the situation becomes really dangerous.
Veronica (Ronnie) Archer owns a bookstore and specializes in historical erotic literature. She is currently working on her doctorate utilizing her specialty as her subject matter. She not only owns a bookstore that sells this sensual literature, but she also has a scholastic chat room for erotica, gives weekly talks about erotica at her shop, and has many graphic erotic antique images framed and hanging all around her apartment. Ronnie is very kind, beautiful, and relatively inexperienced sexually. This was one of my first problems with this book. Her character doesn't fit. I can accept everything about her image until the author attempts to cast this "innocence of actual sexual experience" on her. After all, she is in her late twenties and is exposed constantly to this subject matter. But we are to accept her as a relative innocent although it does not ring true.
Jack Parker is the usual contemporary cop hero - totally male, attractive, discerning, and great in bed. He approaches Ronnie for assistance in his stalker case. Both Jack and Ronnie are just too typical in this overused scenario of a detective that meets an irresistible woman through his police work. They are instantly attracted to one another and a physical relationship begins almost immediately. These sensual scenes will really grab most readers but I found them to be dry, reading as though the author is quoting the ABCs of sensual writing. A lot of pages are spent on these scenes and rate about a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines).
One very pleasant aspect of this book is the time that Jack and Ronnie spend together. Although a lot of time is spent between the sheets, there is still a real love relationship developing between the leads and most of their time together is very tender and precious. They are both mature and not given to misunderstandings or arguments. The author allows us to experience their relationship as it evolves into an affair of the heart.
Although the plot was typical, there is a twist in the ending that surprised me a little. I have seen that others may have recognized the villain early on in the story. I did not. The villain, once uncovered, was not who I suspected.
While I did think that the leads were enjoyable characters, I found this book a bit boring. It was a book I could easily put down because the plot did not inspire me to keep reading to find out what happens next. Jack and Ronnie's relationship and story were sweet but too predictable.
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This review is from: Silent Confessions (Mass Market Paperback)
Ronnie Archer has always been fascinated by erotic literature. Which is why she loves her bookstore so much, which specializes in hard to find erotic books. When a stalker starts preying on women in the city, Detective Jack Parker comes to Ronnie for help. For only she can give him insight to the stalkers choice of passages from the books she carries in her store. He also kindles her desire, which has been raging since she started working on her final paper to get her PHD.
Det. Jack Parker has never met anyone that could make him instantly think of sex. That changes the first time he lays eyes on Veronica Archer. She is everything he'd never had and always wanted. Then he finds out that she's been getting notes for two months. While they are sweet and seemingly innocent notes, he is convinced there is a connection between the stalker and Ronnie's admirerer (sp?).
Then two of the victims are murderered and Jack's now worried for Ronnie's safety. Now the woman he has fallen in love with may fall prey to the psysco that is walking the streets scaring women. Although the suspense isn't very original, I picked it up for the romance aspect, which definetly doesn't dissapoint. It is a highly steamy and erotic book which plenty of sex between the two main characters.
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This review is from: Silent Confessions (Mass Market Paperback)
Except for the violated faces of the female victims and their spouses, and the Victorian erotica poems tat are taken, Sex Crimes Detective Jack Parker has no solid clues. However, Parker knows that the culprit has gotten incredibly bold having now broken into the homes of his chosen targets. The nineteenth century amorous poetry remains the sole lead so he asks that an expert on the subject be provided to help him understand the culprit.
Rare erotica bookstore owner Veronica Archer arrives at the police station to report someone broke into her shop and stole some of her merchandise. Parker thinks she is the professor from the nearby college so their first meeting goes awry until he realizes that he has confused a victim for an expert. However, she knows the Victorian Era quite well and assists Parker on his investigation. As they fall in love, the sexual stalker continues to raise the stakes until he commits homicide and has added Ronnie to his list of intended victims.
SILENT CONFESSIONS is an exhilarating, often heated serial killer romance with an ardent sub-theme to connect the triangle of the cop, the book store expert, and the murderer. The story line is loaded with action and heated with sexual tension between Jack and Ronnie and in an intriguing subtle way between the stalker and the heroine. Though the identity of the killer fits recent trends that feel standardized enabling certain insider information to happen fans will enjoy this taut thriller that hooks the audience from the moment a frustrated Parker meets an exasperated but frightened Archer.
Harriet Klausner
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